Conn. should have first presidential primary

Here’s a quick quiz: Who won the 2020 Democratic Iowa caucuses? Who won for Republicans in 2016? How about 2012? Hint: None of them became president. Iowa, of course, is first in the quadrennial presidential nominating contest, and therefore receives outsized attention from candidates. Many wannabes will start haunting fairgrounds around the state years in advance, hoping to generate some buzz, all in the hopes that a strong showing there will catapult them into the White House.

It sometimes even works. Iowa, along with New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary soon after Iowa’s caucuses, holds doggedly onto its position as political bellwether, cherishing the attention it receives from candidates and the national media, along with the attendant economic benefits. But it’s long past time for those states to step aside in favor of a better, more representative candidate.

For instance, Connecticut.

National Democrats have declared it’s time for a change, and 18 state Democratic parties have expressed interest in being chosen as the first state to hold a presidential primary vote in 2024. Since incumbent presidents are basically guaranteed to be renominated, the process is likely to be something of a formality the next time through. But going forward, someone else will come first and go a long way toward shaping the presidential nominating contest.

Connecticut makes more sense than anyone.

For starters, we’re a diverse state. It’s not always clear if you never leave the suburbs, but the percentage of Black and Hispanic residents in Connecticut is not far off the national averages, and far closer to the U.S. numbers than overwhelmingly white states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Connecticut has a lot in a small area. We have cities, we have farms, we have bedroom communities, we have manufacturing, we have corporate headquarters and we have strip malls, sometimes all within a few miles of each other. You can explore any aspect of America within a half-hour drive, from forgotten factory town to booming suburb. We’ve got it all.

It’s true Connecticut is a left-leaning state, but anyone with basic familiarity with our state knows there are all kinds of people here. And there are a lot of us — 3.5 million people in the third-smallest area geographically makes us one of the most densely populated states in the union, which means you can meet a lot of people in a short time.

For those who are still wondering, Pete Buttigieg won the most delegates in the 2020 Iowa caucuses, though Bernie Sanders got more votes. Ted Cruz won for Republicans in 2016, and in 2012 Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum finished within a few dozen votes of each other. Of that group, Romney was the only one to even win his party’s nomination, which goes to show that the importance of voting first may be somewhat overstated.

Still, if it wasn’t a big deal, states wouldn’t be vying with each other for the role. It will be months before the national party decides whether Iowa and New Hampshire will be dethroned, but good for Connecticut Democrats for seeking the position. It’s time our state had its place in the sun.

You can explore any aspect of America within a half-hour drive, from forgotten factory town to booming suburb. We’ve got it all.